A DOG is to be destroyed after biting a six-year-old boy’s face, leaving him needing 12 stitches.

Caroline Moore, of Shelthorpe, Loughborough, says the incident took place at her home early on Wednesday, September 23, and involved her son, George Grimbley, and a seven-year-old Jack Russell named Jessie.

She said: “He is a rescue dog and we had him nearly four weeks and he seemed to be settling in really well.

“The dog was on my bed and I was half asleep; I didn’t feel my son moving about, I didn’t realise he was in the bed.

“All I heard was screaming, that’s when I seen what happened.

“He had gone to stroke her head. We had the police and ambulance out and he had to have 12 stitches.

“It was his top lip that was bit, my initial thought was that some of his lip was missing.”

Caroline acquired the dog from College Garth Kennels in Hathern and following the incident it is now back at the premises.

She told the Echo that she was worried it might be sent out to another home, but the kennels have confirmed that it will be destroyed.

Simon Ellis, of College Garth Kennels, said: “The dog will not be rehomed, it is company policy that the dog will have to be destroyed.

“When a stray dog comes into us, from the moment we pick the dog up for up to seven days it still belongs to the owner.

“After those seven days, we then get a professional assessor to come in and based on their findings the dog will either be put to sleep or we get the green light to rehome it.

“We also get an independent vet to come in and review the dog.

“This dog passed all the assessments together with the vet visit as well.

“Before a dog is rehomed, we get people to sign a disclaimer which says we can only offer information about the dog from the day we had it, prior to it coming into us we do not have its history.

“We had the dog professionally assessed again yesterday (Monday, September 28) and another review by vet and it passed the tests but unfortunately we will still have to put it to sleep.”